Esther 10
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And the king Ahasuerus laid a tribute upon the land, and upon the isles of the sea.
2 And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?
3 For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.
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Commentary
The short closing chapter of Esther begins with a sure sign that in spite of the crisis and subsequent war, some things in Persia were still the same. King Ahasuerus imposed tax increases across the land and on the islands. Was this an effort to generate the funds he never received through Haman? Maybe, or it may have been the king simply looking out for his favorite person—himself.
Mordecai did not seek power, and did not allow his power or position to poison his mind with pride, like Haman his predecessor. God placed a good man in a position of influence, and blessed not only the Jewish people through this act, but also the entire Persian Empire.
The final chapter does not mention Esther’s name. We are left to presume that the rest of her time as queen went much like the first five years. After averting a terrible crisis, she was still married to the same man. We don’t know if Esther had children, grew old, or died happy. We only know her during one part of her life—her bravest and most difficult—and perhaps that is best. We got to know her at her finest hour.
Jean Boonstra
Voice of Prophecy
